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Courageous (2011) | MOVIE REVIEW!

I haven’t watched movies in the comfort of my own bed for a while now, and stumbled across this American Drama/tragedy, which usually isn’t my sort of movie, but it’s amazing!

The main reason which I think made me want to watch it is it’s association with police and law enforcement. (I love them!) The movie follows the lives of four policemen and their families. There are moments where I laughed, but it follows a plot leading to tragedy and conveys a message like no other: the importance of fatherhood! It might sound like a crazy film to watch, and to be honest it isn’t exactly a full on action packed drama like others, but for some reason I found it incredible.

One day, one of the policemen’s daughter, who he loves dearly, is involved in a car accident. He has no stable relationship with his son, but that incident makes him realise the importance of family and caring for your children while you can, as he cries thinking about all the things he could’ve done. The fact that he had no connection with his son could potentially lead to gang related crime, as there was a strong connection between gunmen and gang members and the lack of a father figure. Throughout the movie, that is exactly what all four policemen share – they either do not spend enough time with their family because of commitments to work, or have not had a father figure themselves. The relation with gang crime is seen when one of the policemen is caught dealing drugs, yet the other policemen make the tough decision to report him, putting him behind bars. This happens after they feel as if they must commit to what it takes to become a man – morals and integrity, and most importantly, applying this to their family relationships. They all officially declare and sign to that commitment of becoming a better person, to themselves, to others and to their families.

The name of the movie ‘Courageous’ follows that courage as a man to raise their children in a faith focused way, after losing all hope, faith and battling their emotions in the most worst circumstances.

The plot was clever and gripping, and genuinely outlined such a positive, heart warming message. The movie was surrounded by the belief in Christianity and God, and that belief, portrayed in this message, bought hope and prosperity in the worst of times. I felt that this constant grip with religion was refreshing, and symbolised faith, but at times, did take away from the message as a whole, especially with the long sermons, as I felt the morals and ethics could be applied to anyone, not just someone of faith. Nevertheless, the message was one to be universally accepted and one that didn’t require religion to connect with. The whole idea of faith, belief, and hope was enough to touch your heart.

The movie soundtrack, with the same name as the title of the movie is such a warm and beautiful soundtrack, and provides a follow up of the meaning – to continue with the struggle, and a follow up of the struggle the men face with fatherhood, after missing out on so much.